The Enchanted Realm: At Journey's End

Second Thoughts

Orion couldn't stop writhing around. His breathing became shallow as he attempted to open his eyes. Wake up, he told himself, wake up! And then, he did. Orion shot up, sweat engulfing his body. He sat on the bed, covering his face with his hands as he took a deep breath. The entire room was incredibly dark. Orion looked to his left, seeing Moonlight's sleeping body facing away from him. Orion looked back to the wall in front of him. Orion laid back down, having calmed down. He closed his eyes, thinking he was okay. Blurred images flashed in his mind. Of what, he couldn't make out. Orion opened his eyes, and everything stopped. Orion got out of the bed, looking through the drawers beside his end of the bed. Only taking a jacket, Orion put on his shoes, slipping out of the room and into the long hallway. The darkness clouded his silhouette as he steadily paced down the hallway. Shadows followed in his footsteps, keeping pace with him. But Orion paid no attention to them. Orion turned left, then continued down the curving corridor, ignoring the hallways and tricks of the darkness. Eventually, the wall to Orion's right opened up, revealing either a large arena, or a gaping hole in the center of the base Orion was in. The quiet teen looked over the railing, seeing a floor of packed sand not too far below. Orion threw his body over the railing, landing smoothly on his haunches. He looked around the open area, seeing four large iron gates along the curving walls. This was definitely an arena. Orion walked until he reached the center of it. Orion looked up, only seeing an empty night sky.

"Eclipse has covered the island's best viewpoints." A woman stated from another end of the arena. Orion turned back, seeing the same woman who had interrogated him the day before. "This was one of them. You had the perfect view of one of the biggest constellations in our universe." The woman met Orion in the middle of the arena, staring up at the night sky." There was a moment of silence between the two.

"Who are you?" Orion finally asked. The woman turned her head back to Orion.

"I'm the Keeper."

"The...Keeper?"

"I make sure all the raiders are kept in check. I keep their most prized items with me. They step out of line, I use it against them." Orion acknowledged the woman's name, making sure it stayed in his mind. He barely noticed the figures running down the hallway where Orion's room was. But he saw them running back the way they came.

"I need weapons. Now!" He ordered, looking at the woman. She ran over to one of the gates, turning a wall around with the pull of a lever. Orion ran over, taking a pair of claw gauntlets that fit neatly around his forearms, a crossbow (with poison arrows), and a fold-in sword. With the push of a button on the sword's handle, the top half of it shot up. With weapons equipped, Orion rushed to the arena wall, clambering up it with his claw gauntlets. Reaching the floor he jumped from earlier, Orion saw the shadowy figures running down the hallway before him. "Get back here!" Orion yelled, running after them. He ran faster than he originally thought he could, but his reflexes were still the same. The intruders took a sharp left, and Orion didn't take it fast enough. He crashed right through a wall, falling onto his side. Orion ran down the long room he was in, crashing through the next wall, and ramming into one of the intruders. The others continued forward, but Orion followed them. He was hot on their tail until the intruders took another turn, this time up the stairs to the right. They were clearly making an escape, but why through the front door? Orion turned sharply, darting up the stairs after them. It was then that Orion realized they had a hostage. An unconscious, human-wolf hybrid hostage. "I said get back here!" Orion yelled again, his voice darker and more bloodthirsty. But the intruders got away. They stole a horseback carriage, taking it out of L'rai. Orion continued to chase after them in the dark, despite barely being able to see. Orion latched onto the bumper just as one of the intruders looked back. Orion was out of sight now. He slid underneath the carriage, grabbing on and holding on for his life. And for Moonlight's.